


The Rabbit Foot

by Gaia_bing



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1940s, Be Careful What You Wish For, Christmas, Drama, Happy Ending, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Pining, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-World War II Bucky Barnes, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Wishes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-14 13:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16913715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gaia_bing/pseuds/Gaia_bing
Summary: If you could wish whatever you wanted...To finally get the one person you've always wanted...Would you do it?





	1. The bazaar

**Author's Note:**

> Or, my own take on the famous "Monkey's Paw" tale.
> 
> Hope you guys like it! :D

_"Get your grapes, come get your grapes! Only twenty cents for over three pounds!"_   someone said to his left.

  
_"Who wants some bonafide, onafide, almost-new furniture? Low, low prices for great great value!"_   someone called out to his right.

  
But none of these was what Steve Rogers wanted to buy. Not right now at least, as he adjusted the black and white scarf against his mouth and continued his stroll down the very busy winter market.

  
The lithe and thin man once again ran down the list he'd begun to categorize inside his head the moment he'd walked into this place:

  
\- Ten bucks for the entire month.

  
\- Two was for food, while two was for electricity.

  
\- Five of these were for Christmas stuff.

  
Which was the reason that he was here. Two bucks-fifty had gone towards decorations, which his roommate and childhood best friends James ""Bucky" Barnes had put him in charge of while the brown-haired man put himself in charge of bringing a spiky formed tree back to their shoe-box sized apartment.

  
As for the other two bucks-fifty? Well, it was for Steve to decide what to spend it on and for Bucky to receive it.

  
And, in this Christmas trek, this was where he was right about now. Having spent all that he could in baubles and garlands and festive decorations of all kinds...

  
And having absolutely no idea what to get his best friend as a gift.

  
Well, that was a lie, he _did_ know in fact what he wanted to get his best friend for Christmas...

  
Two front-row tickets for _"The Pirates of Penzance"_ , the hottest show on Broadway at the moment and one of Bucky's favorite thing in the whole world...

  
Steve just didn't have the actual money to buy said front-row tickets, what with them being almost ten dollars each, something his paltry salary as a newspaper comic-book illustrator could never give him in the time-frame that he needed that particular sum for.

  
But oh, if it in fact did...and if Steve in fact could...

  
He'd maybe and finally have the courage to tell his best friend things that he'd never said to him before...

 

Things... _feelings_ that were frowned upon, at least in the public world. Feelings that he'd felt for the other man since he could remember, but could never let out loud, no matter how much he really wanted to.

  
And besides, Bucky Barnes was a ladies' man and _not_ a gents' man, this was _very_ well-known throughout of New York. So, even if he'd gather the guts to finally put his forbidden thoughts and feelings into words, Bucky would just throw them back in his face and everything would be broken between them. And if there was one thing that Steve Rogers didn't want to lose, even at the price of pining for nothing and for the rest of his life, it was Bucky Barnes' friendship.

  
So here he was, smack dab in the middle of a strangely hot and humid feeling Christmas bazaar, full of people buying other people's selling, his own arms full of glittery and shining knick-knacks, when he heard a voice suddenly call out:

  
_"Hey, you!"_

  
Turning his head, that's when he saw it.

  
A small kiosk, a bit separate from all of the others that peppered the place.

 

In it stood a man seemingly _covered_ in fur.

  
His hat was in fur, his coat was in fur, hell his boots were seemingly in fur.

  
And in front of him stood yet another table full of decorative knick-knacks, but these ones were wooden and hand-made.

  
A grin came on the bearded and furred seller's face when he saw Steve's eyes roam his festive goodies.

  
"Well, 'see, welcome to _"Marvin's Heave-Ho-Ho-Ho"_! What you sure end up buyin', I sure ended up makin'! I'm Marvin, what can I do for you now that I ended up gettin' your attention?" he asked in a cheerful tone.

  
Lowering his eyebrows, Steve continued his roaming. He'd thought for sure he'd gotten everything that he and Bucky had agreed to get as Christmas decorations...

  
But somehow, for some reason, the small wooden angel tree top that was laying on that table was calling to him. And it sure looked better than that gaudy plastic one he'd gotten for two cents over by the entrance of the marketplace.

  
So he took a risk. "Hey, so, that top over there..." he began, to which the vendor almost exploded in glee as he explained:

  
"Ah, so you're interested in one my little wifey's fabulous creations? 'See, since I'm more of a rough-around-the-edges kind of guy, I'm more of an expert at the big stuff, like tree stands and thickly-lookin' carved stuff, while my wife helps in our business with the finer things, like the little beauty that's standing right over there."

  
Steve nodded and took a big breath from his fragile lungs, because now came the more complicated part when it came to shopping inside bazaars:

  
The negotiation.

  
"How much?" he said, the same question he'd asked every table and kiosk that he'd encountered so far.

  
He prepared himself for a incredulous answer, maybe something even higher than the seventy-five cents that he'd ended up saving from all of his previous negotiations, when he heard the vendor joyfully answer:

  
"Well, it's whatever you want it to be, my good sir!" Reaching from under his table, his thick and well-worked hand came up with what looked like...

  
A three-toed, grey furred rabbit foot.

  
"I'll even throw this little baby into the mix right here!" was what this Marvin-man said as he put the rabbit foot right next to what Steve wanted.

  
Steve squinted his eyes as he looked at the now-offered combo and looked back up at the vendor, shrugging his shoulders in confusion.

  
And the vendor, pinching the tip of his nose, closed his eyes, took a breath and began to explain:

  
"'Comes from one of my many trips, this one's in the shallowest part of West Virginia that my boots could step into without fearing sinking up to my knees. 'See I'm a big hunter, right? Well, you probably noticed it from all of the fur that I'm wearin' right now and most of the time.

Mostly some big game stuff since I share the meat that I end up finding with the rest of my family as we travel along the different coasts.

Well, here I was 'see, salivating just at the thought of all the smoked bear meat that I'd just acquired thanks to my latest shoot, when I saw this strange hole in the tree that it'd been laying against when it was bleeding out. I swear still to this day the shivers gets me just thinkin' about it...

Anyway, this glowy, almost aurorus-borealy light came from said tree and reaching inside to investigate, I find this thing right here. All clean, all made up, having no idea where it came from and how it got in there.

And the next thing you know, it's starts rainin'. And I mean _pourin_ ', 'see? And here I am, two feet deep into rapidly mounting liquidy dirt, holding some neatly prepared hare foot that appeared out of Heaven's nowhere, right next to what's supposed to appease me and my folks for at least the next two months.

Well, I kid you not, one moment I'm standin' there, still holding what you're lookin' at right now, and I said to myself, "I wish me and my hunting catch were back home right now."...

And the next thing I know, me and that bear are greeted by my wife, smack dab in the middle of my backyard, smack dab in the middle of Alabama...

Over seven hundred miles from where I was standin' only a minute ago!"

  
Steve couldn't help but quint his eyes even tighter at what he'd just been told. "So you're telling me that you found a clean-cut rabbit foot inside the hole of a tree in the middle of a forest, you wished to go somewhere that was several hours away from where you were standing and barely a second later, you were actually there?" he asked.

  
The man emphatically nodded.

  
"And you're out here pretty much giving it away... _why_?" the blond man continued, to which the vendor retorted:

  
"Because I don't want it, that's why! I'm a man of my own makin', 'see, and the stuff that I get is the stuff that I work for. Now I don't know what Devil put that thing in my way, but if it wants to test somebody, it ain't gonna be me. That's for sure!"

  
Steve clicked his tongue, still not really believing what was probably some buffed-up tale of some wacko who found some tree-toed rabbit in another bazaar and wanted to make some quick buck out of it with a made up origin story.

  
He decided that, well, since it was around Christmas time, maybe he could do some good in the world by making somebody he didn't know happy: "I'll tell you what...I'll take the angel...and the rabbit foot in the mix...for fifty cents, final offer!"

  
The vendor's eyes seemed to light up at those words.

  
"Sold!"

**************

  
"So, let me get this straight..." James "Bucky" Barnes said as he took a good look at what his roommate had just handed him.

  
"Hmm-hmm?" responded Steve, hanging up his coat.

  
"You bought a wooden, hand-carved angel tree topper, the one that I'm holding right now mind you, for about fifty cents?" Bucky asked.

  
"Huh-huh." Steve answered, following his best friend's voice into the living-room.

  
"When you'd just spent almost half of that on another one, only ten minutes beforehand?!" the brown-haired man said and did his own squinting of the eye when his small and blond best friend arrived once more in the room said:

  
"Well, in case of a break or something, better have two and be sure than have one and be done, that's what I say."

  
Taking his freebie out of his pocket, Steve grinned as he added: "And look, I even got some missing-toe freaky thing out of the deal! What do you think, key-chain material?"

  
Getting his head closer to inspect what Steve was proudly brandishing, Bucky blinked a couple of times as he exclaimed: "Huh, Steve? You _do_ know that rabbits usually have four toes and _not_ five, right?"

  
It was Steve's turn to blink confusedly as he answered: "Yeah, of course I knew that! Why?"

  
Bucky pointed at the furry limb as he said: "Well, you just said that it was missing a toe and..."

  
And when the other man took a gander at what he'd brought home, along with the hand-made tree top...

  
Huh, he'd thought for sure that when he'd first seen the thing, it'd had three toes instead of the four that he was staring it at right now.

  
"Are you sure you're okay?" Bucky asked his best friend, putting the palm of his hand on the blond man's forehead as if he was checking for a fever of some sort, which Steve rapidly batted away as he answered:

  
"Of course, I'm fine! Just because it was a bit hot inside that bazaar and I wasn't necessarily wearing _all_ my winter gear doesn't mean that I'm going to catch my death! I'm not sick _that_ often, you know!"

  
Putting both his hands up in defense, Bucky rapidly backed away as he said: "Alright, alright, I believe you... jeez. You're not sick. At least, _this_ time you're not."

  
Trying to change the subject, Steve put the rabbit foot in his back pocket as he offered: "Well, I don't know about you, but we've still got a bare tree in here and I don't see any decorations being hang up. What do you say you and me get to work and make this whole apartment a little bit Christmas-ier?"

  
Bucky smiled at those particular words.

  
"You got it."

  
***************

  
Later on that night, Steve was sitting on the edge of his bed, the grey furred rabbit foot once again in his hands.

  
Had...had Bucky been right?

  
_Was_ he okay?

  
Had he really seen three toes on the severed piece of animal when he'd first noticed it, when right now he was definitely looking at something that had four toes on it?

  
Unless...

  
What this Marvin-guy had told him was in fact true...

  
Somehow.

  
Steve shook his head at himself and huffed out a laugh.

  
Oh please, a wish-granting rabbit foot,

  
As if _that_ existed inside this brutal and changing-world...

  
...

  
..

  
...

  
But still,

  
Somehow,

  
And for some reason that even he himself didn't quite understand,

  
Steve Rogers took a good look at what was resting inside the palms of his hands,

 

  
And...

 

  
_"I wish that I had two front-row tickets to "The Pirates of Penzance"."_ he softly whispered to himself,

 

Why the hell not?

 

It wasn't like it was going to work anyway...

 

And so he called it a night,

 

Leaving the now three-toed rabbit foot onto the floor.


	2. The tickets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, what happens when morning comes along and Steve (and Bucky) find a seemingly impossible surprise inside their mailbox?

_"Oliver? Where in the **hell** did you put those tickets?!"_ was what woke up Steve the next morning.

  
_"The show's not for another three days Gina, don't get your panties up in a bunch!!"_ was what made him sit up, stretching like a tired cat and yawning like a hungry bird.

  
Scratching the side of his face, the blond man went to his bedroom window to see what the ruckus that he was hearing the echoes of (or should we say, the _screamings_ of) was about.

  
And, to his surprise, he found himself the spectator of a domestic dispute, the quite financially comfortable and usually quite lovey-dovey couple that consisted of his and Bucky's next-building neighbors.

  
"My panties...my panties up in bunch!? You're the one that's hiding things to make me freak out!" said the wife, her hands on her hips.

  
The husband didn't seem to like his spouse's attitude, as he was tapping his foot on the carpeted floor of their living-room as he said:

  
"Oh, please, like I'm the one that's keeping things to mess everything up! You didn't like the dinner that I brought back yesterday and so to take revenge on poor little me, _you_ hid _my_ gift from last week so that I looked like the bad guy!"

  
"That...that is...you kept them...you kept them for you and that tramp that you call a secretary, haven't you? You were planning to go to the show with her and dump me right after that, didn't you, _didn't you_?!" accused the wife.

  
"Hey! I'll let you know that Nanette is a bright and righteous young woman and in no way a tramp! You take that back, right now!"

  
"No I will not! And how dare you for defending her like this, when you should be on my side, you stupid cheater!"

  
"I'm not a stupid cheater, you're the one that's stupidly ungrateful!"

  
"You moron!"

 

"You sow!"

  
"I hate you!"

  
"I hate you!"

  
And it was the double loud banging of doors that made Steve very stealthily, so that no one knew he'd just eavesdropped on pretty much everything, pull down his window curtains, and he was about to very quitely make his way to the kitchen and get some breakfast...

  
When...

  
_**"STEVE!!"** _

  
Made him suddenly sprint down the hallway, still in his nightwear and onto where Bucky was standing right now, just outside their front door.

  
"What? What is it? What happened?!" asked a very worried Steve, a bit shaken by his best friend's sudden shout.

  
But the brown-haired man didn't respond, his mouth too wide in its agape state to do so. he only pointed to a piece of paper that was resting inside his hand...

  
Or, to be more precise now that Steve was looking at them more closely, _two_ pieces of paper...

  
Two front-row tickets to _"The Pirates of Penzance"_...

  
That were somehow dressed to each of their names.

  
************

  
With a loud bang of his own making this time around, Steve placed his back against his now-closed door and put his hand over his face.

  
Externally, he'd done his best to stay calm and cool, inventing a story to Bucky about an early New Year bonus from his newspaper job and an early Christmas surprise for his best pal as its consequence.

  
But deep, deep down, now way, way back up, he'd been then and was now absolutely freaking out.

  
What in the world was going on?!

  
How did his and Bucky's names somehow found themselves written on what were pretty much guaranteed seats to _the_ place to be right now, when he knew neither of them had the financial capacity to acquire said seats?

  
...

  
His attention suddenly found itself at the foot of his bed...

  
Where he spotted another foot, this one grey and furry,

  
Now adorned with three toes.

  
...

  
Could...?

  
Could it be?

  
Nah, it couldn't be...

  
... _right_?

  
Very slowly and very carefully, as if it'd jumped at him if he made any kind of sudden movement, Steve approached the previously forgotten furred token...

  
And silently picked it up.

  
Was it this thing that had made the tickets seemingly appear out of nowhere inside his and Bucky's mailbox?

  
Had the seemingly mundane phrase that he'd whispered to himself the night before, while holding this piece of dead and stuffed animal between his fingers as he did so, somehow come true?

  
Had...had that Marvin-guy's story been true?

  
Was he holding in his hand right now what was pretty much a modern version of a freakin' magic lamp?!

  
What...what was he going to do?!

 

What _could_ he do?

  
Or...as he thought more carefully...

  
What could he _not_ do?

  
He...he had the whole wide world in hands right now.

  
He could wish for anything and it would come true!

  
His mind went through the countless possibilities:

  
Riches after riches after riches,

  
World Peace,

  
To never go hungry again,

  
Eternal life,

  
A freakin' _flying car_!

  
Bucky's love...

  
His wandering thoughts suddenly came to a halt.

  
Bucky's love...

  
He could wish for Bucky to be in love with him! He only had to say a few words and presto, chango! He'd finally get what he'd always desired...

  
For his best friend to see him as something more than that.

 

But...then again...

 

He sighed as his conscience broke through his wild reverie.

  
He couldn't do that.

  
He just couldn't force someone to feel something that they didn't already feel, _especially_ not Bucky.

 

But, then again...

  
...the smile that had momentarily disappeared from Steve's face reappeared once more as he thought...

  
Sure, he couldn't force Bucky to love him by a simple wish,

  
But that didn't mean that he couldn't find a way for the other man to fall for him with one...

  
**************

  
**Three days later...**

  
_"Steve, come on, the show's starting in ninety minutes! We're going to be late if you don't hurry!"_ called out Bucky from the living-room.

  
Once again standing inside his bedroom, trembling and sweating slightly, the three-toed rabbit foot in hand, Steve checked himself in the mirror to see if everything was ready:

  
\- Hair combed and mussed just right? Check.

  
\- Shoes shining like never before? Check.

  
\- A slightly too-big tuxedo ensemble with matching pants, that he'd borrowed from the absolute hunky beast that was his boss? Check.

  
_"Come on, Steve! What in the world are you doing in there?"_ asked Bucky once more and this time, Steve responded loudly:

  
"In a minute!"

  
Before closing his eyes and, holding the probable source of his incoming happiness close to his chest, he added softly and to himself once more:

  
_"I wish that I looked so good that no women nor men inside New York can resist me."_


	3. The body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The show must happen and go on...

Well, he could safely that this wasn't quite the results he'd expected, Steve pondered to himself, as he and Bucky entered the theater that roofed their much-anticipated show.

  
Oh, not when it came to the physical realization of his wish, this wasn't the problem.

  
Quite the contrary, actually.

  
One second he'd been a five-foot-four, ninety-five pounds when wet bit of a shrimp, the second he was a six-foot-two, two-hundred and forty pounds mouth-watering beefcake.

  
He'd even taken a second before coming out of his room to raise his shirt and...

  
...oh _wow_...

  
He was almost as ripped as Thor, the man that he'd borrowed his tuxedo from and that guy was a muscle _god_!

  
Steve had raised his head and had smiled at his perfectly-teethed reflection.

 

Bucky was going to absolutely _melt_ just at the sight of his new physique!

  
He looked so good, that even if the brown-haired man wasn't walking on _this_ particular side of the tracks, he surely would be getting to the next available level crossing in a hurry when he took one look at what Steve was staring at right now, that was for sure!

  
And... _yeah_...

  
While the rest of New York _did_ seem to melt whenever they took one look at Steve, in his now-finely suited muscled body, his shining shoes and nicely-styled hair, judging by all of the flirtatious smiles and winks he'd gotten from perfect strangers (women _and_ men) the second he'd gotten out of the apartment and made his way inside the awaiting taxi and outside the awaiting pavement only ten minutes later...

  
The one person that _didn't_ seem to appreciate his brand new form,

  
The one person in all of New York that had been staring at Steve like he'd just grown three heads and _not_ like the physical specimen that he now was...

  
Was the one person that he'd done all of this for.

  
As Bucky, from the moment he'd stepped out of his room until now, as they each were taking their designated seat,

  
Didn't say one word,

  
Didn't shine one smile,

  
Didn't even produce one blink.

  
He was just _there_ , staring right at him, eyelids squinting together with a raised eyebrow added to the mix, even when the _"[Major-General's Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGWoXDFM64)_["](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGWoXDFM64), the part of the opera that Steve had presumed his best friend had been waiting all show for, came on.

  
The blond man made no case of the situation and neither did Bucky,

  
Until intermission came along.

  
*************

  
_"Hey there, sweetness. 'Want a glass of rosé? On the house!"_ pretty much cooed a black dress wearing woman as Steve passed by her in the lobby.

  
The now tall man raised a hand in polite refusal as he wandered along the large corridor and couldn't help but cough for a second or two (or maybe it was more for a minute or two) when the air of the nearby cigar-room caught itself in his still defective lungs.

  
Drawing another couple of clean breaths, he slowly stood up from his leaning position against the concrete wall that had been his temporary savior from having to lay down onto the floor with how much he'd been coughing, he made his way farther the now seemingly-endless hallway...

  
Until he suddenly found himself outside of the theater, right next to a pensive-looking Bucky, that was leaning against one its doors, staring at the midnight sky.

  
Steve leaned against the wall right next to his best friend and said nothing...

  
Until...

  
"So, what kind of devil did you make a deal with to suddenly grow eight inches and put on a hundred pound of muscles like that?" finally asked the brown-haired man, turning his head and squinted once more at his childhood friend.

  
The man in question frowned at the question and responded in a incredulous tone: "I did no deal with no devil! It was probably an angel that granted me this wish! Did you see how much people have been looking at me all night?!"

  
Once again the raised eyebrow came back with a vengeance as Bucky retorted with a sarcastic nod of the head: "Oh yeah, woohoo! Bravo! Steve Rogers is the center of everyone's attention, because he has shining teeth and can probably make his pectorals dance now. That's great! That's genius! That's..."

  
" _ **-Not what I wanted!**_ " cut-off Steve in annoyance.

  
Bucky took a step back, seemingly shocked at the other man's sudden outburst. He blinked a couple of times, before slowly asking: "What...what do you mean by that?"

  
There...there was no going back now. Not after what Steve had done to himself physically and what had just come out of his mouth.

  
It was either full plunging in time or full retreat.

  
And so Steve Rogers went in head first.

  
"I...Even though everyone's attention _has_ been nice tonight, they're not the ones that I wanted to be smiling lovingly and winking flirtatiously at me..." he finally whispered.

  
Now Bucky looked even more confused. "What? What do you mean? What's going on, Steve?" he asked in a trembling voice.

  
Taking a couple of slow steps towards his best friend (and hopefully soon-to-be-more), Steve finally revealed everything that was in his heart...

 

Everything from day one.

  
"The rabbit foot, the one that I thought was some sort of gag gift, it's actually a wish granter. I became like this, because I wished for it. We got tickets to see this, because I asked for it. Everything that I've been doing these past few days, heck everything that I've _always_ been doing, it's been for you."

  
He eventually was close enough to take Bucky's hand in his own and, in a passionate voice, exclaimed:

  
"For you to see me the same way that I see you, Bucky Barnes. Like the greatest light that's ever lit up the sky, like the warmest point in all of the Earth, like the beacon that will always bring people home. Like my home, like my heart. You're my heart, you're my home, James Buchanan Barnes and I hope that I'm now good enough for you to think of me this way too."

 

A breath passed between the two,

 

then another one,

 

then another....

 

Until Bucky, after looking at the large crowd of people that had gathered around the pair as the blond man had made his impassioned speech, lowered his stare down at the pavement where his shoes stood, shook his head and liberated his fingers away from Steve's grip as he whispered:

 

"Oh, Steve, you didn't have to do all of that for me to see you that way. But believe me, even if I wanted to and believe me, I do you and I both know it'll only end badly for the both of us. If you'd made the speech that you just did with just me as a spectator, maybe you and I could have make it work. But now that pretty much the entire audience that was in the theater a minute ago just saw you out here declare your love to another man..."

 

Steve could only stand there as who had pretty much been the owner of his heart...

  
Took a couple of steps back,

  
"If we were in another time, maybe we could be together like this..."

  
Shook his head sadly once more,

  
"But now, we just can't. I'm sorry."

  
And disappeared into the night.

 

Silent and sudden drops of cold water landed on Steve's forehead,

  
As the audience that had gathered to watch the now very sad spectacle went back inside the theater to assist to a hopefully more joyous one.

  
And, as the rain warm December rain mixed itself with Steve's flowing tears...

  
He picked up the two-toed rabbit foot from his tux pocket,

  
And did the only thing that he could think of:

  
_"I wish that I could live in a time where me and Bucky could be free to be together as we pleased."_

 

He closed his eyes for one moment, breathing in and out to try and control his still rapidly beating and also shattering heart...

 

As these were the [sounds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m_GzdwmryY) that he heard at first...

 

And this was the [sound](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfNkcpbVD3k) that he heard next.


	4. The future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just because you're in the future doesn't mean it is bright...

Now Steve was _really_ freaking out.

  
Where...

  
How...

  
What in the _world_ had just **happened**?!

  
He stared down at the now one toed rabbit foot,

  
Then back at the world he'd just wished himself in.

 

He frantically looked around.

 

Everything...everything looked so different.

 

Everything was so damn bright,

  
Everything was damn loud.

 

The theater that he'd walked out of just a minute earlier...

  
Was completely _gone_.

 

He began to place on foot in front of the other.

 

The painting on the neighboring houses and apartments had changed.

  
Everyone's clothing and manners of talking had changed.

 

And now _everyone_ was looking at him like he had grown three heads.

 

And saying things as they passed him by like:

  
_"Who the fuck is this bozo?"_

  
_"Hashtag: Nice costume!"_

 

_"When does this guy think he is, pre-World War 2?"_

  
...

  
"Come again?" finally asked Steve at that last comment,

  
Only for the man that had said this particular phrase to turn around and scoff out loud:

  
"Yeah, it's 2018 right now, buddy, not 1943. So unless you're part of a retro or a reenactment group of some sort, I think you need to check yourself inside a loony bin and _fast_!"

  
And with that he went on his way, leaving Steve absolutely reeling.

  
***********

  
20...

  
_2018_?

  
How in the world had he found himself _that_ far into the future?

 

Steve's thoughts raced through his mind as he once again slowly made his way down the sidewalk.

 

Was this...was this because of his wish?

 

Was this...was this how much time it had really taken for the world to accept two men being together?

 

Had it really taken _that_ long of a time?

 

But then again, if he was now inside a world like he'd wished it to be...

  
Could that mean...

  
That maybe...

  
He could have a second chance with Bucky?

  
Maybe make things right?

 

Be as free as the other truly wanted them to be?

 

For the first time since his best friend's rejection, a smile reappeared on Steve's face and determination ran down his entire body, as his walking doubled in speed and he had one goal in mind:

 

Go back to his apartment and find a way to contact Bucky Barnes.

  
*******************

  
There was only a _small_ problem with that particular plan...

  
Just like the previously torn-down theater, there was now no apartment building.

  
In its stead stood what looked like a small cafe, looking by the large cup of coffee that decorated its door as Steve walked in.

  
Someone in an apron and a brown hat greeted him cheerfully: "Welcome to Starbucks and Merry Christmas by the way! What can I get ya?"

  
Star-?

  
Bucks-?

  
What in the world was _that_?

Coughing once more, Steve responded to the nice-sounding lady with a shaking voice: "Hum, excuse me, there used to be an apartment building where your restaurant is situated now. Do you happen to know what happened to it?"

  
The white-haired and glasses-wearing woman smiled and said: "Oh, honey, that building was torn down over forty years ago! No one lived there for years beforehand and the whole place was declared a liability by the city when it became decrepit and everything."

  
With an even more shaking voice than before, Steve dared to ask:

  
"And do you know what happened to its occupants?"

  
The waitress' smile turned sad as she said with a comforting tone:

  
"Oh, honey, you and I both know where all of its occupants are..."

 

*******************

Steve Rogers sat there.

  
Still dressed in his borrowed tuxedo suit and pants,

  
His hair and shoes as perfect as never before.

 

One toed rabbit foot in one hand,

  
The other delicately brushing against delicately carved letters.

Letters that were written...

  
One a bronze headstone.

 **"Here lies James "Buchanan" Barnes"** ,

it read,

  
**"Wasn't born alone,**

  
**But spent the last two-thirds of his life alone**

  
**And unfortunately, died alone.**

  
**1916-2006"**

The blond man's fingers fell onto the grass that was now his best friend...

  
His heart,

  
His love,

  
That was now _his_ home's own home.

 

He sniffled as he openly wept, completely broken and completely lost.

 

How could all of this happen?

  
What in the world had he done?

  
If only he had never made such a public fool of himself,

  
If only he had never made such drastic measures to his body, just to maybe attract someone that already loved him,

  
If only he had never made any of those damn wishes...

  
If only...

 

He began to grow hot under the collar of his suit.

 

If only he had never let this Marvin-guy coax him into getting this stupid rabbit foot...

 

He was so angry now he was beginning to sweat...

 

If only he'd gathered the guts, the one thing he'd never had in all of his life and did these things all on his own instead of relying on a stupid crutch...

  
Then none of this...

  
_Non_ e of this...

  
Would have _ever_ happened.

  
He was almost completely drenched in sweat now he was so angry...

  
Angry at the world,

  
Angry at himself,

  
Angry at...

  
...

  
...

  
Angry at the thing he'd thought had been an absolute blessing, but now understood was a complete curse.

 

And so Steve Rogers sat there, soaked to the bones in angry sweat, as he gripped the grey furred severed limb tighter than ever before and screamed right to its lonely toe...

  
_"Hey asshole! If I got any more wishes left, I wish that none of this had ever happened and that I never found you in the first place!"_

  
He'd screamed so loud that his throat was now completely dry.

 

He gasped as his lungs...

  
His poor, never healthy lungs,

  
Grasped for any incoming air.

  
And the blond man suddenly felt so...

  
Felt so...

  
Felt so damn _dizzy_.

 

And the last thought that ran through his head?

  
The last words that he whispered inside the Holiday night,

  
To the living,

  
And most of all, to the dead?

 

_"I'm so sorry, Bucky. I love you and Merry Christmas."_

 

As Steve closed his eyes to maybe stop the dizziness,

  
Collapsed next to the grave that covered his everything,

  
And the now completely toe-less rabbit foot fell right out of his hand.


	5. The awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You don't need all the wishes in all the world...
> 
> When the one thing that you've ever desired has been there all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue time! Thanks everyone and Happy Holidays! :D

...

  
...

  
..

  
.

  
**"-ve?"**

  
**_"-eve?"_ **

  
** _"Steve?"_ **

  
A soft and warm voice calling his name was the next thing he heard and Steve, still completely drenched by his previous anger sweat, slowly opened his eyes.

 

 _God_ , he still felt so dizzy.

 

  
There was something wet and cool laying on his forehead.

  
Where in the world was he?

  
What in the world had...

  
Turning his still throbbing head, he gasped when he found himself face-to-face with a teary-eyed...

 

"Bucky!?' he asked in a hoarse voice. God, since when did his throat become so dry?

 

  
A white-haired and glasses-wearing woman wearing what looked like a nurse's outfit smiled as she handed him a glass of water with a straw and said: "You gave everyone quite a scare honey. Did you know that you've been in here for a whole week? It's Christmas today!"

  
"W-What?" was all the once again small blond man could ask (and yes, he did lift his hospital gown to see).

  
Bucky, now the one doing the sniffling, smiled and said in a gentle voice: "Yeah, I got a call from the bazaar that you were supposed to buy Christmas ornaments from. Apparently you collapsed with a very high fever right in front of a wooden-crafted decorations kiosk and it was its owner that called an ambulance and everything. You've been sweating like a pig, coughing up a storm and mumbling incomprehensible stuff for the past seven days now."

  
"Yes and this man right here has never left your side. Heck, he even slept on the floor whenever night came!" the nurse suddenly exclaimed, making the man in question suddenly look at the ground and the man on the bed raise an eyebrow.

  
Seeing the incomfort she'd created just now, the nurse smiled sheepishly and added as she walked backwards: "I'll leave you two to it. Call me if anyone needs anything."

  
Steve clicked his tongue.

  
"So...slept on the ground whenever night came, huh?" he asked, grinning slightly in amusement.

  
Bucky's complexion was turning beet red as, still looking at the ground, he scratched the side of his face and tried to explain: "Yeah, well, you're my roommate and you help me pay half of the rent! Of course I was going to be by your side until you woke up! I mean, who the hell do you think I am, a Neanderthal?"

  
"Hmm-hmm and what about the puffy eyes and the tears in them when I woke up, then?" Steve continued with and that right there made Bucky turn his head and look at him as he said in a soft voice:

  
"Well, you've been my best friend since I can remember and there were times that I thought that maybe...just maybe...you wouldn't wake up and I...I..."

  
The inquisitive eyebrow dropped down as Steve reached over and...

  
"...I...what?"

  
Grabbed Bucky's hand gently inside his own...

  
"...I would never have the guts to say..."

  
Which made Bucky slowly arch his body towards the hospital bed...

  
"...say _what_ exactly?"

  
Which made Steve lean his own half of the way...

  
"...say the same thing that I heard you mumble before you woke up just now."

  
Which made Bucky interlock his fingers with Steve's...

  
"Which is what, exactly?" was what Steve whispered against the brown-haired man's lips.

  
"You're my heart and you're my home Steven Grant Rogers. Merry Christmas and I love you too." was what Bucky whispered against the blond man's own.

 

And so then and there, one December 25th 1943, childhood best friends, current roommates and eternal loves Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes shared their very first kiss.

 

It was the greatest gift and it was the greatest wish that they each ever received and were granted.

 

While outside, Marvin Saint-Nicholas grinned to himself, as he put his trusty four-toed rabbit foot in his back pocket...

  
And disappeared like he was never there.


End file.
